Joining Skyworkz and hitting a conference on my first day
Stefan Leenen
Jun 5, 2023
Starting a new job is always an exciting experience - new people, a fresh environment, and a different set of responsibilities. After spending 7.5 years at the same company, Piggy Loyalty, it felt like a significant leap, leaving behind amazing colleagues and the comfort of familiarity.
What to Expect on Your First Day?
When starting a new job, what are your expectations for the first day? I asked ChatGPT for its insights, and it provided the following list:
Onboarding and Orientation: Employees generally anticipate a comprehensive onboarding process that includes an orientation session. This familiarizes them with the company's culture, policies, procedures, and their specific job responsibilities. It may involve meeting with HR representatives, completing necessary paperwork, and being introduced to their team or colleagues.
Training and Support: New employees often look forward to receiving the necessary training and support to perform their job effectively. They expect guidance and resources that will help them understand their role, learn new skills, and become acquainted with the tools, systems, and processes required for their work.
Clear Expectations: People expect their supervisor or manager to provide clear and specific expectations regarding their job performance. This includes understanding goals, objectives, key performance indicators, as well as any deadlines or targets they need to meet.
While this list may sound clinical, it is essential to make someone feel welcome and ensure they have everything they need. Simple gestures like having a prepared workspace and setting up their email address can go a long way in making a positive impression.
My First Day Experience
For most of us, the first day on a new job is likely a mix of the aforementioned expectations. Getting to know numerous new people and trying to remember their names can be overwhelming. Fortunately, I already knew a few individuals at Skyworkz due to our previous collaborations. So, what did I do when my expectations were already met before my first day? Well, I decided to attend a conference!
AWS Summit
Attending a conference organized by one of the major cloud providers, AWS, was a new experience for me. As someone with primarily GCP cloud experience, I was curious to learn more about AWS, their ongoing projects, ideas, and future plans.
The keynote talk was particularly interesting, and it came as no surprise that "Generative AI" was the buzzword of the event. AWS showcased numerous services and shared their innovative ideas. While most of these are not yet available to the general public, AWS users should definitely keep an eye on these developments.
{{}}
CodeWhisperer
One service I wanted to highlight is Amazon CodeWhisperer. It aligns with tools like ChatGPT and Github Co-pilot, focusing on code generation and working with AWS. CodeWhisperer claims to provide code suggestions specifically tailored to AWS APIs, aiming to generate better working code for any AWS services you use.
Although I understand that conferences like this primarily serve as marketing tools, I wished there were more in-depth talks or workshops. Some of my new colleagues shared the same sentiment. Nonetheless, it was a well-organized event, and I had an enjoyable day overall!
Blipz On The Radar
Speaking of well-organized events and emerging technologies, last year I had the privilege of being invited to Blipz, "The Tech conference with a twist," organized in cooperation with Dataworkz, Skyworkz, Groundworkz, Lemonshark, Cyberseals, and Codebeez. It was a tremendous success, featuring a wide range of interesting topics. And guess what? We are organizing another one this year! The call for papers has closed, and we received an impressive 64 submissions! As the conversation around Generative AI continues to grow, it sparks discussions about its impact on our lives. Here's a sneak peek at one of the keynotes:
In a world captivated by artificial intelligence (AI), where ChatGPT, deep learning, and Large Language Models dominate the headlines, a remarkable transformation is underway. While the debate rages on about job displacement versus job creation, the true impact of AI might lie elsewhere.
It's time to look beyond the surface. The essence of a complex system lies not in its components but in the dynamic relationships between them. How will AI reshape our collaboration? Traditionally, humans instructed computers, but now we witness machines setting objectives for people. Prepare yourselves for a future revolution in our work methods.
What might change in how people work together? Join us as we delve into the fascinating realm of AI's (possible) future influence on our Ways of Working.